Understanding cosmetic testing in the UK.

If we were to ask you which of the following high street brands use animals to test the cosmetic products they sell in their UK stores (Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Boots, The Body Shop, Lush or none of these); what would your answer be?

Many of us will have seen Lush’s bag which boldly expresses the store’s dedication towards the fight against animal testing but what about the other four?

You may be surprised to learn that none of these high street brands currently use animals to test their cosmetic products. In fact it has been illegal to test cosmetic products or any of their ingredients on animals in the UK since 1998 and an EU-wide ban has been in place since 2013. This means that no cosmetic product sold anywhere in the EU should include new ingredients tested on animals. Although many ingredients will have been tested at some point in the past before these legislations came into play.

If you didn’t already know this don’t feel bad, a recent survey carried out by ‘Understanding Animal Research’ found that only 38% of respondents were aware of these legislations. And, advertising in many stores can perpetuate the belief that some UK cosmetics are still tested on animals. Specifically, products marketed as ‘cruelty free’ or ‘not tested on animals’ may not technically be examples of false advertising but they do perpetuate the incorrect belief that some product sold in UK stores are still tested on animals.

Wendy Jarrett, CEO of Understanding Animal Research, said:

“The proliferation of ‘Not tested on animals’ or ‘Cruelty-Free’ logos has led many to believe that other cosmetic products sold on the UK market are tested on animals – something which has not been the case for 18 years. While animals continue to play a small but key role in medical developments, the UK has successfully eliminated such testing for cosmetics and, more recently, household products.”

This is undoubtedly a huge step forward and we are also heartened to know that the UK government is currently working with a number of non-EU countries supporting them to move away from cosmetic animal testing towards non-animal alternatives.

So, the next time you are out shopping for cosmetics or household products you can shop with the confidence that none of the products you see on the shelves will be tested on animals!